Nothing Else Matters
by zeKaien
Summary: Allen Walker finds himself unwillingly falling inlove with Kanda Yuu, his senpai. When he thinks that the feelings are mutual between them, he hears words that will cut him open to the core and crush his heart to pieces. Yullen.
1. First Encounter

**Author's Notes: **this is my first -man story please have mercy on me! I've toying with this idea for months but I couldn't just gather enough courage to post it. D: and i'm still struggling with a lot of details and i'm trying to sort them out. urgh. anyway, please go on. i hope you enjoy... urgh

* * *

Allen slammed the door of his shoe locker shut and sighed. He received, yet again, a very cute, and very sweet note reminding him that he was a monster and a cursed kid from his school mates. Honestly, he was getting weary of all these bull crap but well, he wouldn't think of complaining; the bullying here in Japan was amiable compared to what he had to deal with back when he was still in England.

He slipped on his indoor shoes and walked away from the lockers, striding the tiled floor to his classroom. He bumped into an upperclassman but he didn't dare to look up at him. He bowed politely and apologized and went off, catching a glimpse of long, dark strands of hair lightly dancing in the air, as the upperclassman continued to march forward, not without spitting an audible 'che!' as he did so.

Allen arrived in front of his classroom. Bloody hell. He always dreaded to enter the bloody classroom. Who wouldn't, if you had to deal with a room full of bloody idiots who took pleasure on throwing ridiculous insults at him? He paused, took a deep breath, ignored the other students gawking at him, then he slid the door open and entered. He sat on his seat which was, thankfully, located at the very back and on the far end of the room. He pulled out a book from his bag, and again, mustered all his energy into ignoring his stupid classmates who instantly shut their mouths the moment he stepped in.

But the silence didn't keep for so long, sadly so.

'So that cursed kid went to school again.'

'Ew! I hope he stops coming to school! I've been saying all along that his arm shouldn't be allowed here!'

'Ha! Ha! I never knew monsters could read.'

'Hush! He can hear you! What if he cursed you all as well? He's a demon's child!'

'Really guys, can we just ignore him? I'm better off reading An-An. Ikuta Toma's on the cover. Tee hee.'

Well at least someone didn't want to bother minding Allen. He perfectly knew that all of his classmates were disgusted by him but at least there were more sensible ones who didn't voice their repugnance as much as the others, not contributing to the noise pollution around them. But he really needed to start to concentrate on his book now. He wanted to read at least the first five pages of the novel before the teacher could come-

'OI! WALKER!'

Allen's train of thoughts was rudely interrupted by Matsumoto, a tall and lanky boy whose mop of hair were pointing in one direction. He was sipping a carton of orange juice and his other hand was shoved in his trousers' pocket. He was right in front of his desk, smugly looking down on him.

'Yes, Matsumoto-san?' said Allen, politely smiling at him as he set down his book on his desk.

'I've been calling for you for a while now and you've been ignoring me.' replied Matsumoto, irritation coating his words.

'Ah,' said Allen, setting down his hands on his desk as he entwined them, reminding himself of an understanding principal waiting for the delinquent student to explain himself. 'Well, you see, I was too absorbed with my book that I didn't care about what was going on around me.'

'Huh. I didn't know monsters knew how to read.' Matsumoto said haughtily. He cocked his eyebrow as he threw a disgusted glance at the book. 'You sure you can handle something like a novel book?'

'It seems so, seeing as I've already read more books than what this school's library has. I'm sure you know so well how unfortunate I am to be born in this world looking like this so I might as well make up for my lack in physical charm by filling my head instead.' said Allen simply, his eyes twinkling. 'Unlike some people, you know, blessed with such decent looks and all but wasting their time away filling their heads with nothing but trash and doing nothing but absurd things.'

'Are you pertaining to anyone in particular Walker?' somebody from the class butted in.

Allen briefly glimpsed on the direction where the voice came from and shook his head, chuckling.

'No, no. I was speaking in general manner, silly. I'm sure all of you are too busy doing things like coming up with solutions to stop starvation or finding other planets where aliens are possibly dwelling so please, don't mind my words.' said Allen kindly, yet his words were clearly dripping with sarcasm. He looked back up to Matsumoto who stood in front of him clutching his carton of juice rather tightly. 'Right, Matsumoto?'

'Walker, you bastard.' Matsumoto growled as he poured all of his carton's content on Allen's head.

Everyone hitched a breath when they saw the orange liquid cascade down from Allen's hair to his shoulders, and onto his table. Luckily, the book was still safe. Allen pushed his fringe away from his forehead as he closed his eyes, praying with all his might not to snap right then and there.

'What's going on here.'

Everybody turned around to look at the girl standing at the doorway. Her hand was resting on the door frame and the other was on her hip. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to scrutinize the whole scene before her and she gasp when she saw Allen's state, her hands flew to cover her mouth.

'What did you guys do to Walker-kun?' she cried as she ran toward Allen's, pushing Matsumoto roughly on the side.

'It was he who started it first Lenalee-chan! Don't blame us!' Matsumoto retorted.

'Like hell I believe you! Get out of the way!' the girl called Lenalee snapped at him. She hurriedly took out her carnation pink handkerchief and reached out to wipe Allen's face.

Allen flinched at the touch.

'It's okay Lee-san. Please don't bother. I don't want your pretty handkerchief getting dirty because of me. I'll just go to the bathroom and-'

'Nonsense Walker-kun! Don't bother about petty things like getting a single cloth dirty. Now let me help you wipe your face first before you head to the comfort room.' Lenalee insisted, refusing any form of refusal. She gently wiped Allen's head and face as he stilled on his spot. 'And you guys, especially you Matsumoto, I won't be telling about this to the principal but if something similar to this happens again, I'll make sure my brother will kick you all out of this school!'

'Aren't we being cocky here, Lee?' a boy whose hair was parted in the middle neatly answered as he pushed his thick, round glasses up his nose.

'What-?'

'Lee-san! Please don't go to far for my sake.' Allen said in a shaky voice. He stood up as he pushed his chair out of the way and he gently tapped Lenalee's shoulder as he forced a smile. 'It's not worth getting in a fight with the rest of the class just because of someone like me. I can defend myself just fine so please don't bother. Your kindness is unnecessary.'

Allen left the classroom just as their teacher came in.

'Walker, where do you think you're going?'

Allen only waved his hand as his response and trudged along the now empty corridors on his way to the bathroom.

When he heard his classroom's door slam close, he let out a deep sigh.

'Darn it, I was so rude to Lee-san. I should apologize to her later when no one's watching. I just hope I won't get kicked in the guts.'

He turned left and entered the male's bathroom by the end of the hall and slumped on the nearest sink. He warily stared at his reflection on the mirror: the orange juice had now stained his newly-washed gakuran uniform. Thankfully, the cloth was made of black so he didn't have to worry about looking messy for the whole day. His locks of white hair have started to feel sticky too and he hated it when his hair was ruined. It was so easy to see if his hair was filthy since he had an inconveniently light, (lightest hair colour he had seen) mop of hair. He opened the faucet and cupped some water into his palms to pour on his head and started to sloppily wash his hair. Really, it was hard to wash one's head in a small sink such as this.

'OI!'

Allen froze. Whoever called him sounded royally peeved. He reckoned the guy got splashed on his uniform and he wanted some sort of apology. He was hoping verbal would be enough because he didn't want another trouble this early in the day. He squeezed his eye shut before standing straight up to look at the other guy standing before him. A strained smile stretched on his lips.

'Er, hi?' Allen said uncertainly.

'I got splashed on, moron.' the guy with a long, silky-straight black hair in tight high ponytail (Allen surmised he was a senior) snarled at him.

He peered at the older student's uniform first and saw there were blotches of colourless liquid on it and grimaced. He quickly put on a sincere apologetic face and bowed.

'I apologize. I was too careless with washing my hair.'

'Huh?! Hair-washing is normally done at home, moyashi, not in school!' the senior said nastily. His finely shaped eyebrow raised in annoyance.

_Moyashi? What's that?_ Allen scratched his head as he looked up, his troubled smile still plastered across his face.

'Well, I normally bathe at home but due unwanted circumstances...' he paused, briefly looking away. He wasn't sure whether to tell the senior about the 'juice incident' but he quickly dismissed the idea. 'Well, long story short, my hair got really sticky and I had to removed the dirt off of my hair. I am really sorry that I got you wet senpai.'

The long-haired senior huffed out his annoyance.

'Cut it out. You don't need to bow twice.' he said curtly.

Allen straightened his back at once, wiping off his smile.

The senior remained quiet as he scanned Allen from head to toe; his eyes seemed to linger on the stains on his chest. After a while, he finally looked away spitting an audible 'che' while he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

'Just be careful next time, stupid _moyashi_.' he strode off, rummaging in his trousers' pocket. His hair swayed gracefully behind him.

_Thank you Kami-sama for putting this petty issue to rest!_ Allen couldn't be any happier! He thought he would be bullied by this grumpy senior to pay for his uniform or something like that. It wouldn't surprised him if he asked for some sort of compensation for getting his uniform and pretty face wet.

'I shall, senpai. Thank you for understand-' Allen's grateful reply got cut off when he felt a soft fabric hit his face.

'You don't have to return it. I don't want it anymore. Che!' and the long-haired senior slammed the door shut behind him, not even bothering to wait for a reply.

'What the heck.' Allen said, blinking stupidly at the door, dumbfounded. He was clutching the grey plaid-patterned fabric he realized was a handkerchief. 'I don't know if I should feel grateful for this or should I be angry that he rudely threw this off to my face.'

He hesitated at first, warily eyeing the soft cotton material then decided there was no harm in using it since the senpai earlier bothered to lend (or maybe give, he was not sure) the neat handkerchief to him. He gently towelled his hair and face dry using the fresh fabric that smelt of something Allen could not quite identify, but it gave him the impression of something sexy in a manly way. _Oh. Wait. Wait. Let us not go there brain. He was a man, for crying out loud!_ He quickly finished wiping off his mane before he left the comfort room, carefully pocketing the hanky; a small smile adorning his lips.

This day may not be that bad for Allen Walker.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **hello! i hope it wasn't too bad for your eyes. if you've read this part of the story, thank you very much for reading! *bows* i hope you guys won't mind giving me reviews. i suck at writing and i really look forward to improving myself. i want to be able to decently deliver you guys this story, no matter how cliche this plot may seem... haha!

so please review! thank you so much in advance. \\(^_^)/


	2. Trouble at Lunch

**Author's Notes:** Eleven days has passed since I posted the first chapter of my first ever Yullen story. But before I deliver this fresh-from-the-oven second chapter to you, I would like to address some of the reviews for general information. :)

First, I use inverted commas or single quotation marks because I'm trying to follow the British English rules. I hope you guys don't mind. :D

Second, about Allen being not familiar with the word 'moyashi', I've actually given it a thought before if it would be awkward to write that since they're in Japan and they speak Nihongo, but then I thought I wanted to show everyone that he's despite being already nearly proficient in the language, he's only been in Japan for such a short time, like months. So even if he has encountered the term before, since Allen doesn't eat it on a daily basis, he has probably forgotten that bean sprout in Nihongo is 'moyashi', his precious nickname. 3

Here's the second chapter mates! Saa... douzo!

* * *

Thankfully for Allen, time had flown fast and now it was already lunch. The moment the teacher had left the room, Allen had quickly left as well in order to get the school cafeteria while it still wasn't too crowded. He was now squeezed in a long queue of starving students waiting to be attended to.

'Ah Allen dear~!'

'Hello! Jeryy-san.' said Allen cheerfully to the eccentric looking chef of the school cafeteria.

'You're still cute as always Allen-chan! So, what are you going to have today?' Jeryy said while pinching Allen's cheek.

'Actually, I'm just getting a melon bread.'

Jeryy's outburst of disapproval of Allen's lunch was heard all over the cafeteria, making every student pause to turn and look for the commotion. Now the whole school knew that Allen would die of starvation because his lunch only consisted of melon bread, and that Jeryy was doting on him.

* * *

'Oh! He's only gettin' a melon bread? I heard he's got monstrous appetite!'

'Eh? Who are you talking about, Lavi?', Lenalee asked as she followed Lavi's gaze, 'Are you talking about Walker-kun?'

Lavi nodded, eyes still locked on the white-haired freshman.

'You know, something actually-'

'Uwah! Yuu-chan, you didn't even wait for me! That's cruel!' Lavi yelled indignantly and slumped on the chair beside Lenalee and opposite of Yu, who had already started with his meal.

Yu slowly looked up from his meal to snarl at Lavi, 'Shut it, Baka Usagi!' and quickly returned to eat his tonkatsu in peace.

Lavi just shrugged and turned back to Lenalee instead.

'You were saying?'

Lenalee rolled her eyes and sighed. She was already daintily opening her bentou.

'I think you have a short-attention span Lavi. Anyway as I was saying,' Lenalee said in a slightly higher pitch preventing Lavi from cutting her off again when she saw he was about to interrupt her, 'something actually happened earlier in our class involving Walker-kun.'

Lavi enthusiastically started with his mapo tofu meal while eagerly waiting for Lenalee to continue with her story.

'Aha. What happened to the boy?'

'Well, the guy in our class Matsumoto, your kouhai in basketball club, poured juice all over him this morning. I threatened the whole class to stop bullying Walker-kun or else I'll report them to the principal, but he said to cut it out and to not make enemies with my classmates just because of him.' Lenalee sighed.

'That Matsumoto's always a rude little shit! He thinks he's all high and mighty but he can't even properly execute a lay up to save his life.' Lavi snarled.

Lenalee only sadly looked at him and huffed. She took a small bite on her tamagoyaki and slowly chewed, contemplating.

On the corner of his eyes though, Lavi saw Yu sneakily gazing at Walker who was making his way out of the cafeteria, which was intriguing because Yu never really showed interest in anything he and Lenalee chatted about, or in rumours. He snickered.

'What is it?' Lenalee asked, snapping out of her trance.

'Nothing don't mind me.' Lavi continued to snicker which earned him bewildered stares (in Yu's case, a bewildered scowl) from his meal-time mates so he quickly cut it out and cleared his throat. 'Back to the topic. I don't understand why's he getting bullied. He seems such a nice kid to me. Too polite.'

'He's a real gentleman, like a prince in fairy tales. It started during his first day here. Classes have long since started so everyone had already formed their own little cliques. Matsumoto and his friends attempted to make a small talk with Walker-kun during break but then they got too interested in his gloved hands. Walker-kun politely brushed off the topic but the idiots wouldn't give it a rest.' said Lenalee. She momentarily stopped to drink water and chew her food properly.

'I assume the three idiots did something to offend the little guy.' said Lavi with a grim smirk. He was starting to attack his bowl like the food had personally offended him. Then he saw Yu grimaced at him; he immediately stopped.

'Indeed. They sneaked up on Walker-kun and forcibly removed the gloves on his hands.' said Lenalee. She looked around them first before she continued her narration with much lower voice, 'It was then when the whole class saw his left arm. Those guys obviously have the same brain as with a chicken and so they pestered him about it and well, Walker-kun must've probably snapped by then because next thing we knew he was already insulting them in English but I couldn't really understand since he has a thick British accent and he spoke too quickly. But by the sound of it they weren't at all the pleasant.'

Lavi gaped at Lenalee and laughed. 'Wow! That must've been quite a scene, eh? Wish I was there.' he said. Then he turned to Yu who was also keenly listening to Lenalee, his hand holding the chopsticks in midair.

'What?' he snarled at Lavi when he noticed he was openly being stared at.

'You're also interested in that Walker kid, I see. You rarely care about stories like this, Yu.' Lavi answered cheerfully, taking a spoonful of his meal.

'Fuck off.' Yu retorted rolling his eyes but did not deny what Lavi had accused him of.

'So what happened after that, Lenalady? I still don't quite understand how the rumours started.'

Lenalee looked at Lavi and Yu solemnly before she proceeded, 'Well, the class must've been surprised that Walker-kun would actually dare to retaliate since he's a transferee and a complete foreigner with peculiar looks. Matsumoto spread the rumour that he's a cursed kid because of his left arm and made childish pranks around him to make it seem like Walker-kun's a harbringer of bad luck. Others insult him now just to join the bandwagon. You know how much of a simpleton most of the students these days are.' she finished, slightly fuming.

'Whoa! Whoah! Lenalady calm down. You're practically livid.' said Lavi as he stared at Lenalee gulp down her water quite unlady-likely.

'Hn. So that kid doesn't take his bullying quietly with a happy face.' said Yu nonchalantly, finishing his last ebi tempura in a bite.

'No, I don't think so. He's being a gentleman most of the time and endures most of the mockery but when push comes to shove, he knows how to bite.' said Lenalee chuckling.

'I think he's pretty fun, that Walker kid. I'd be friends with him in a heart beat.' said Lavi.

Lenalee nodded as her reply. Yu only sipped his carton of tea. Lavi then continued to ravish his meal in silence, his thoughts filled with a certain white-haired student with peculiar looks.

* * *

'Hah!' Allen sighed at his melon bread, feeling downhearted that he would only eat a single piece of bread for lunch when he had a living monster residing in his stomach. He reached the vending machine outside of the school building then he rummaged in his pocket for some yen.

'Strawberry milk? Tea? Which one should I buy?' said Allen pondering in front of the vending machine of drinks.

Allen had inserted yen coins into the slot when arm draped around his shoulders, he caught a whiff of disgusting cinnamon scent, and the person pressed the button for coffee. Instantly, he felt his own body tremble from anger when he faced the person who bent to get the can of coffee and drank it in few gulps.

'Thanks for the treat, freak.'

_Bloody fucker._

'Oh, what a pleasant surprise, Matsumoto, Hayakawa, Abe,' Allen said sweetly, his voice sounded sickening even to him, 'but then I wonder why am I not surprised?'

'You might want to keep your mouth shut, Akuma, or you'd find my fist shoved in your mouth!'Matsumoto threatened in a nasty growl.

'Oh dear, I certainly do not want that. The only thing I want in my mouth right now is my melon bread, thank you very much. Now, I'll leave you alone once I got _my_ money back.' Allen said. His voice had gone colder, but his lips were still stretched in a smile, 'So please return it to me.'

'Oooh!' Matsumoto taunted, his lackeys snickered stupidly, 'Now I'm scared-'

'MATSU-CHAN!' someone from behind them called in a singsong voice, then suddenly, a tall (probably a senior) student, sporting a messy, bright crimson red hair arrived at the scene, slumped his body weight on Matsumoto and pulled him in a one-sided hug.

'Bookman...' Matsumoto greeted, sounding completely disheartened, 'senpai. Yo.'

The other two, Abe and Hayakawa, Allen observed from the corner of his eyes, took a few steps back seemingly wanting to blend with the wall. He wanted to laugh gleefully. The idiots resembled a cat being cornered by a huge, growling dog.

'What're ya doin' here eh?' the red-haired senpai asked in Osaka accent, tugging Matsumoto closer to him.

'Nothing. Nothing in particular senpai.' said Matsumoto in a strained voice. He was trying to wriggle out of the senpai's _'hug'_.

'Hmm. Is that so?' said the senpai. Then he spotted the coffee can in Matsumoto's hand, 'Oy, I also want a drink.'

'Eh?'

'Give me ¥150 already. I'm thirsty, hm.' the senpai said with a hint of menace.

Allen wondered if he was also in danger.

'B-but...'

'Cough up the money already or it's 10 laps for you at the school grounds.'

'I-I understand.' Matsumoto said fumbling on his wallet for the coins,'Here, Bookman-senpai.'

'"_Good boy_."' the senpai said, pleased. 'Now, scram!'

And the three little idiots flew away like they caught fire on their butts. Allen blinked several times before he slowly turned to the senpai looking at him grinning.

'Yo!' the senpai greeted.

Allen uncertainly bowed his head in reply.

'So those guys were bullying you?' the senpai asked while inserting the money he got from Matsumoto earlier into the slot.

'A little bit. But it was nothing I couldn't handle.' Allen replied meekly. He saw the him press the button for strawberry milk before he chanced a glance at the senpai's eyes; they were green, he perceived.

'Hmm...' was the senpai's only respond. He was busy rummaging his pocket. Then he inserted another ¥150 into the slot and bought mixed juice.

_Is he going to drink both?_

Allen's question to himself was answered by the senpai when he offered the strawberry juice to of his brows raised in question.

'Take it. Consider it a gift or something.' the senpai said as he winked, 'I'm Lavi Bookman by the way. Lavi's fine. Everybody calls me that.' Lavi introduced. His eyes were twinkling.

Allen reluctantly but graciously took the offered drink and bowed his head.

'Thank you very much.' he said, feeling self-conscious. He could feel his stare at him, 'Oh, I'm-'

'Oh! This is bad! I gotta get goin'! Yu might strangle me to death for making him wait for so long.' Lavi said hurriedly. Then he started to run for the door, 'See ya later Allen-chan!'

And he was gone as quickly as he came.

_Allen-chan?_ _Do I look like a girl?_ Allen scratched his head feeling confused when he suddenly realized something:

'Didn't he just return my money to me?' he asked himself incredulously and loudly, gaping at the strawberry milk in his hand.

Allen looked back at the door where Lavi had disappeared into and back at drink. He then happily punched in the straw and sipped the drink in content. He vaguely wondered why it was twice as delicious today than usual as he went back inside the school building with a light spring on his every step.

_I'll thank him properly when I see him next time. That Lavi-senpai._

* * *

**Author's Notes:** As always thank you for reading this. And I would like to express my gratitude to the readers for the reviews, follows, and favourites. I'm genuinely happy to think that there are readers out there who've read and appreciated my work. I'm so new to all of this, please continue to take care of me. Yoroshiku!

Let me know what you think, point out my mistakes, throw flames at me, I'll welcome them all. Please review! :D

P.S. Reviews are very educational. For example, in LovinOnlyForYuu2's review, there is this idiom there 'fish out of water' and I've googled it and I learnt something new!. :DD


	3. Three Monkeys and a Bean Sprout

**IMPORTANT:** I mentioned in chapter 1 that their uniform was blazer style but I am going back to my original idea which is the gakuran style: the old school uniform in Japan. Will try to describe sometime soon. And also I couldn't decide back then whether to use 'Yu' or 'Yuu'. I wanted to use the latter one, but when I went to do research I saw at a page that they write it as 'Yu'. Meh, 'Yuu' is better.

* * *

'Tim! I'm home!'

Allen closed the door behind him as a yellow furry cat sauntered its way to him. It eyed the grocery bags he laid on the floor, then something must have caught its attention as it started to sniff the inside of the bags. He quickly took off his shoes chuckling, and trotted over to the kitchen; his cat following closely behind.

'I got you something good, Tim. Today's my salary day and I'm in a good mood too!' Allen said to Tim excitedly. He started to extract the grocery items from the plastic bags and placed them on the shelves, some inside the fridge.

Timcanpy watched Allen from the top of the dining table; its tail standing up straight and would occasionally flick from side to side lazily.

'I know you're starving, Tim but please bear with me! I've got to sort out our supplies first. I'll be quick. Hm?' said Allen. He gave Timcanpy a quick scratch on its neck before he disappeared completely behind the door leading to the bathroom.

Timcanpy purred and flopped down on the table and licked its paws. It guessed it could wait for its food patiently. Afterall, Allen was always so generous when it comes to his beloved pet's food. But he knew better not to make it wait for too long, or it would rip his underwear again to shreds if it got crossed.

Moments after, Allen went back to the kitchen with a goofy grin across his face. His fringe were sticking on his forehead because of sweat.

'Sashimi for dinner Timcanpy!' Allen hollered as if Timcanpy was in another room instead of right in front of him.

Timcanpy's eyes grew wider, but probably not because Allen's voice astounded it, but because of the yummy sashimi and its delicious smell wafting in the air.

He leapt to the ground and purred at Allen's feet.

'Patience, love. I'm dividing this equally between us.', said Allen cheerily. He was putting cat food in Timcanpy's bowl and added four slices of maguro on top. 'There you go chap! Dig in!'

Timcanpy brushed its tail on Allen's leg then leapt over the chair then onto the table as he set down the bowl beside his plate. He also flopped down on a chair started his own dinner of three large orders of yakisoba, twelve pieces of dumplings, and maguro sashimi.

'Tim', Allen started. Timcanpy briefly looked up at him, 'I got bullied again today.'

Tincampy, for the life of the poor cat, couldn't figure out why its master was still grinning despite what he had just confessed. Last time it checked, bullying was never a good news, especially when it concerned Allen.

Allen cleared his throat and went on with his story.

'This morning, that douchebag Matsumoto poured juice over me.', said Allen while carefully chewing the yakisoba, 'So yes I quickly went to the toilet to wash my hair and I met a senior student there.'

Timcanpy looked up again at Allen, wondering about the need to pause. Then it saw him filling his mouth with dumplings and its question was answered. What was still baffling to the cat though was, how could anyone still have good manners in eating even when he was an extreme glutton? Timcanpy then just shrugged and continued its business in silence, ears still attentive to its master.

Allen gracefully gulped down the bulk of food in his mouth.

'Well, I thought the senpai was going to extort money from me because I splashed some water on him, see? But no, he even offered me his hanky, Tim. Wasn't he nice?' he said. He rummaged for the grey plaid-patterned handkerchief inside his pocket and showed it to Timcanpy.

Timcanpy sniffed it and grimaced at Allen.

Allen ignored it.

'He was really pretty. He has long hair tied in high ponytail, and his posture looks dignified, like those shogunate you see in samurai movies.' he said, sighing.

Timcanpy blinked at him.

'I know men aren't supposed to look _pretty_ but he _is_, Tim, he is so. He looks a bit grumpy though.' Allen finished, thoughtful.

The cat resumed eating, looking grumpy itself.

Allen shoved more food in his mouth and chewed before he spoke again.

'And then during lunch', Allen peered at the cat, Timcanpy ignored him, but he continued anyway, 'I was saved by another guy senpai again.'

Thankfully, the cat finally finished its meal and was now licking its paws and whiskers. It would be more responsive to its master from now on, it supposed. Timcanpy blinked at Allen to signal for him to go on with his story.

Allen petted its head, chuckling.

'He returned my money to me. You see, my classmates stole my drink from the vending machine but he quickly arrived at the scene and extorted money from them. I thought I was in trouble too, but he bought me my strawberry milk using the money he got from them.' he said barely containing his laughter.

The cat gawked at Allen as it plopped down on the table, already done with its grooming. It wondered why its master was so happy about the whole incident. Wasn't extortion a bad thing for humans?

'I know what you're thinking, Tim. That red-haired senpai didn't really extort money from my classmates; he just returned what they stole from me. And you know what, if I were a girl, I'd probably be gushing and giggling non-stop all day because... Hey! I got saved twice in a day by these _ikemen_!-',

Timcanpy rest its head in between its forelegs in resignation.

'Really, can you believe my luck? I bet all girls would love to be in my place. Me, I'm just grateful to know that there are still a few good-hearted souls on this Earth. Fate in humanity restored by half!' said Allen, peering over his cat for its lack of response.

_Really._ Timcanpy idly opened its one eye to consider him.

'Really, Tim! Are you suspecting me of something? Hm?', Allen questioned his cat, scrutinizing it, 'Are you perhaps thinking what I think you're thinking? Urgh Tim! Don't give me that _one-eye_ look! I hate it! Come, let's get you cleaned. I still have homework to do after this.'

Allen carried Timcanpy to the bathroom to bathe. Timcanpy just rolled its eyes and let its master carried it to wherever he pleased.

'Tim, I saw that!'

* * *

Lunch at school the next day came and Kanda was royally pissed. He loathed it when it was his turn to do errands for the teachers. He was on his way back from the gym carrying the box of materials for that old geezer in jersey uniform. It was damn heavy and Lavi was in tow.

Lavi.

'Why the hell are you following me by the way? ' Kanda demanded, whipping his hair as he sharply turned to look at Lavi.

'Because I love you.' Lavi said with a cheeky grin. He adjusted the papers in his arm.

Kanda rewarded him with a back kick.

'Ow! That hurts dammit Yuu-chan!'Lavi groaned.

'It was supposed to hurt, or it would be for nothing if it didn't, idiot.' Kanda snapped.

'You're so mean, Yuu-chan! Even though I went out of my way to help you, this is the thanks I get?'

Kanda ignored the rest of Lavi's words when he spotted a mop of white hair nearby, seated on the grass, his back resting against one of the school yard's giant trees. He then quickly realized it was the infamous 'Akuma', or so what the rest of the school called him, peacefully _wolfing_ down his bentou. He was about to frown in disgust when he noticed the three stupid-looking third years guffawing as they walked nearer the bean sprout. He abruptly stopped his pace.

'Hey, isn't that Allen Walker?...' Lavi trailed off.

Kanda assumed he was also wary of the monkeys that were now talking to the short stack. He couldn't blame him, afterall the scene in front of them quickly escalated to something unpleasant. He hid behind a tree and motioned for Lavi to do the same.

'Hey! What do we have here, eh?' one of the senior students with baseball cut who stood in the middle said in mock surprise, elbowing the other with copper-coloured hair.

'Isn't this the school's Akuma? the one with the cursed arm and eye?' copper-coulored hair immediately supplied.

'No shit! The real thing! How do you do?' the guy with shoulder-length curly hair asked Walker as he sneered.

Walker slowly looked up at them looking unperturbed.

'Oh, hello. What can I do for you, senpai?' Walker asked them politely. He was still holding his chopsticks in the air.

'Wow! For a first year, he sure has some guts eh, don't you think so Sano?' curly hair turned to the guy with baseball cut who apparently was called 'Sano'.

'It's more fun that way Yama-chan.' the copper-haired guy cut in, ogling at Walker. His eyes sweeping at him from head to-

Wait. _'Ogling?'_

Sano didn't speak at first. His eyes were plastered on Walker, seemingly assessing him. Suddenly, he pulled him up by the collar and spoke to the others.

'Yamamoto, Kirihara, what do you think should we do with him eh?' he sneered. Then he returned his attention to Walker, 'Let's have some fun kid, hm? Play with your senpai?'

On his side, Kanda felt Lavi's agitation.

'Those bastards are from class 3-C. You know, the class of "all brawns, no brains"? the kid's in trouble, Yuu! That Yamamoto's known for being a perv who bats for both teams! He'll fuck anything that has a hole!' Lavi hissed. His eyes glued on the the third years who had now surrounded the Walker. 'I think we should go and rescue him and-'

'No.' said Kanda firmly grabbing Lavi's wrist as he made a step out of their hiding place. 'Let the kid handle it by himself. He looks fine. If things get out of hand, then we'll intervene.'

'But Yuu!-'

Their imminent argument was cut off by a loud yell; next thing they knew, they were watching an all-out fight. Kanda turned to Lavi and the look of horror on his own face was mirrored on the other. They silently agreed to come to Walker's rescue when a realization struck Kanda suddenly.

The brawl between Walker and the three senior students was so one-sided. Walker was handling them quite well; he was fighting in a weird style Kanda had not seen before. He was sending flying kicks and throwing punch combinations. Against his nature, he actually felt a pang of pity for his fellow senior students. Imagine the humiliation if the word got out that they were single-handedly beaten to death by a skinny, short, and weak-looking first year. That would surely hurt their pride a lot. Kanda glanced at Lavi and he wasn't surprised to see him rooted on his spot, mouth hanging open, gaping and blinking stupidly.

Lavi blinked at Kanda and swallowed his spit.

'Kanda, I had no idea a chibi moe kid can be quite scary too.'

'Idiot.' Kanda hissed.

After that spectacular display of beating the shit out of those wimpy monkeys, Walker leaned on the tree gasping for air. He seemed totally fine and unscathed and somehow, Kanda felt relieved. He stepped out of their hiding place and stalked to him with Lavi in tow.

When Walker heard their approaching footsteps, he hastily stood up, peeked at his victims before him then abruptly bowed his head in repentance.

'I... I did not mean t-to beat them! Please believe me! This is actually legitimate self-defence but-but maybe I got a bit too carried away b-but I swear I did not start it!' he said hurriedly, stammering.

'Cut it out! We're not gonna report your ass! We saw the whole thing; these monkey idiots asked for it.' Kanda said, glaring at the limp bodies around them.

'That's right, Allen-chan. So don't you worry your pretty little mind, ne?' Lavi reassured Walker, winking.

Walker looked up at them looking grateful and relieved.

One by one, the beaten third years began to stir. Upon realizing that they were joined by two more persons, they immediately got up and ran, limping.

Lavi openly laughed.

'Eh?!' Walker suddenly gasped, looking wildly between Kanda and Lavi.

'What is it?' Kanda and Lavi chorused, slightly alarmed.

'Do you know each other, Lavi-senpai?'

'What? You've already met? Yuu-chan and Allen?'

'At the bathroom the other day, yes.'

'Oh! I see...' said Lavi, giving a sly grin at Kanda, 'That's right! We're classmates and best friends-'

'-I'm not your best friend! Don't spout lies you idiot rabbit!'

'-rabbit?'

'-Anyway, yeah, we know each other well.', Lavi said with a sigh. He looked somewhat displeased that he had been interrupted rudely by Kanda, 'And these three are third years from class C. Good thing ya know some pretty awesome moves, eh? Where'd ya learn all that?'

'Master- I mean my guardian taught me some basic military self-defence when I was young.' Walker said simply.

'Your guardian sounds suspicious.' Kanda muttered, squinting his eyes

'Ha! Ha! I guess so. He's quite mysterious even to me.' Walker replied with a chuckle.

'Who's your guardian by the way? Your uncle?' Lavi interjected.

'He's my godfather. He's been taking care of me since I was young.' said Walker, turning his attention to Lavi.

'Hmm, I see. Oh, I almost forgot!' Lavi suddenly yelled, making Walker jump and Kanda glare at him, 'You know Lenalee?, Lee Lenalee?'

'Um, yes. She is my classmate. What about her?'Walker asked hesitantly.

'Well, me and Yuu here', Lavi draped his arm around Kanda's shoulder to which Kanda just rolled his eyes in disgust 'Are also friends with her.'

Walker silently gasped.

'Yep. Heard that right li'l man. Now I've decided that you'll be joining us for lunch starting today. Sounds good yeah?' said Lavi with a winning smile.

'But-'

'Not today Baka Usagi, on Monday. We've got to deliver these stuff to the faculty room. We're eating in the classroom today.' Kanda cut in, rattling the box he was holding.

'Oh yeah I forgot. Sorry! Ha! Ha!', Lavi said eyeing the papers in his other arm, 'Yuu, you don't mind Allen-chan joining us do ya?'

'Tch!'

Walker looked from Kanda to Lavi then shook his head.

'Thank you for the kind offer but I'm fine, senpai.' said Walker, clearly flurried.

'No buts! We'll see ya on Monday. Later Allen-chan! Me and Kanda gotta go!' Lavi said waiving his hand. He tugged Kanda closer and attempted to drag him away which earned him an elbow jab on his stomach.

Lavi howled in pain.

* * *

A/N: I am aiming to be able to write how the Japanese people actually think and speak. Right now, I'm trying to build up their relationships with one another and form their characters for foundation. Also I'm tweaking some stuff from the canon to add (hopefully) spice to the story, maybe. Ha! Ha! I dunno, well some things are really not necessary to put in the plot so... Hope you guys will bear this in mind in the future. Also I want to sincerely thank you guys for the reviews, faves, and follows. They keep me motivated. Hopefully I'll be able to finish chapter 4 soon as I've already started writing it.

Please read and review. Let me know how much I suck.


	4. Moyashi Sighting

**Trivia:** 'Nothing Else Matters' came from Metallica's song of the same title. I was struggling to come up with a title for this story when I went to YouTube and listened to 'Stairway to Heaven' by Led Zeppelin when I saw Metallica's video at the suggested videos on the side of the page.

* * *

It was Saturday and Allen's day off his part-time job. He had done laundry early that day and cleaned his apartment afterwards, shooing Timcanpy who seemed intent to disrupt everything he did. The cat had decided to claim the sofa when Allen ad been vacuuming it. It had jumped on his back, claws hanging in his shirt when he had been airing out his bed sheets. Lastly it had strutted about the whole floor where he had been sweeping. He had scolded the car then and now, his pet was ignoring him completely. It only wanted to play with him but still, he was irritated that he had finished all his chores past his lunch time when he had been so intent to finish it before twelve noon struck.

Allen was now on his way to the supermarket. He needed to buy ingredients for the mushrooms and tuna pasta he was planning to cook for his meal today. He had already shopped to restock his supplies the other night but he lacked meat and had no mushrooms stocked in his fridge.

Upon entering the supermarket, Allen took a cart and pushed his way in between the shelves and went to the vegetable area at the far corner of the establishment. Varieties of vegetables were neatly piled in individual black boxes and each of them has a label written in Japanese characters with English translations and the price.

He examined each kind of vegetables there, contemplating if he would need to buy them for the next days' meals but he hadn't really planned anything yet, seeing as he preferred to cook what he was in mood for the day. He took some mushrooms of different kinds: shiitake, bunashimeji, ordinary ones, and enoki, and then chose the freshest leaves of shiso and placed them all neatly in his cart. He gave the vegetable corner one last look before he left when the bean sprouts caught his attention. He gingerly rolled to his cart to its direction and took some to peer at them. He glanced at the label which read 'moyashi' in Japanese characters and _'bean sprouts'_ in his mother tongue. He stared at the word 'moyashi' sensing that it was awfully familiar - an odd feeling creeping up on his skin. He returned his attention to the bean sprouts in his hand, his burrows furrowed.

'Don't eat your own kind, Moyashi.'

Allen jumped and turned his head sharply on his right and found Kanda in his usual high ponytail. He was donned in dark grey long sleeved with turtle neck shirt, skinny black pants, and ankle-cut black leather boots. On his arm was a black grocery basket filled with nothing but instant noodles.

'Kanda-senpai! What are you doing here - and what do you mean by "own kind"?' Allen blurted out.

Kanda quirked his eyebrow at the question.

'What do you think people do in supermarkets?,' he asked sarcastically, 'And what I said exactly. It's called cannibalism when you eat that. You're supposed to be family with that thing.'

'W-what? I am not a bean sprout!' Allen exclaimed vehemently, running after Kanda who walked away from the vegetables section.

'Don't shout here you idiot! And why are you following me?' Kanda asked, eyebrow still hovering beneath his fringe.

'I am so sorry!,' Allen said feeling agitated as he bowed his head apologetically when he noticed that other shoppers' heads were turned in their direction. He tried to ignore them all when he noticed Kanda's items in his basket. 'Why are you only shopping for noodles senpai?'

'Because I like them. Now, fuck off!' Kanda whispered hotly.

'But those are not nutritious - AH! I have an idea!,' Allen said excitedly, grabbing Kanda's shoulder to turn him around, 'Why don't you join me for lunch - to show my gratitude for lending me your handkerchief the other day. I don't want to sound that I'm bragging but I daresay that I'm a decent cook and judging by those instant noodles in your basket, you don't even know how to cook rice.'

Kanda squinted his eyes at his last comment. Then his face took on a contemplating look.

'Why should I take an offer from a stranger? I don't know you at all.' Kanda said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

'Oh! I believe we were introduced yesterday so we're not really strangers anymore but I guess it's still hard to trust someone you barely know.' Allen replied thoughtfully. He tapped his finger on the corner of his mouth as he thought of something that would convince Kanda to trust him, 'Er, I cannot think of any reason besides simply accepting my good will and gratitude. Besides, I don't have any reason to poison you, do I?' He said with a chuckle.

Kanda's expression was unreadable as he bore into Allen's eyes.

'Lead the way.'

Allen laughed as he made his onto the fruits section to get himself some avocados and cucumber to finish his shopping.

* * *

'What are you having for lunch?' Kanda asked as he dropped his grocery bag on Walker's centre table. He observed the whole apartment; although it was small and enough for a single person to live in, it was clean, spacious, modest, and with a tranquil feel to it. He could tell that some of the furniture like the sofa was of mediocre quality yet they looked well-maintained. The hues used for the whole apartment were light earthly tones. He thought it suited Walker perfectly.

'Mushroom and tuna pasta, and dragon roll.' Allen replied cheerfully. He dragged his heavy grocery bags onto the kitchen and placed them on the counter with a heavy thud.

'You've got a decent place.' Kanda commented, his head turning left and right surveying the place.

'Thank you,' Allen smiled, 'I hope you don't find it too tiny though.'

'Well, it _is_ tiny, but it's not cramped,' Kanda said with a shrug, 'You're small anyway.'

Walker faced him with a scowl on his face.

'You really know how to poke where it hurts, senpai. And may I correct you? I'm not _small_, I'm of _average_ height.' he said hotly.

'I'm just honest.' Kanda said with a slight smirk. He pulled out a chair from the dining table and watched Walker as he busied himself from preparing the tools and ingredients.

'_Brutally_ honest.' Walker added as he whirled around the kitchen counter.

'Is that anyway to talk to your seniors?' Kanda asked in taunting tone.

'If you must know _senpai_,' Walker turned his head on his direction, back still facing him, 'I am a _foreigner_. I am not used to being really submissive to someone who's just a couple of years older than me - but I do now how to be polite.' he finished, his eyes glaring at him.

'Tch.' Kanda said. He found it fun to tease Walker. He was small, and wasn't passive. He knew how to retaliate without looking like a scardy cat. People around him would usually cower in fear just because their gazes met - but this kid - Walker - he would have his fun with him. His gaze wandered around Walker's arms which were covered by the long sleeves of his white button-up shirt, he also wore pure-white gloves to cover his hands. Kanda supposed it was all to cover his supposed hideous arm, according to the rumours. He felt bad for him but of course he wouldn't voice it out loud - ever. He wondered how Walker's arm ended up like that and how could he endure wearing such suffocating clothes all the time. But surely, he wouldn't wear gloves in sleep, would he...?

It wasn't just the peculiar clothes and gloved hands that made Walker stand out. He also had an odd pure white hair which reminded him of untouched snow or of ivory, depending on the light of which it reflected. His face was another oddity Kanda had never seen before; on his left forehead was an angry red scar that resembled a badly drawn inverted pentagram, then, just beneath the point of the star, a vertical line was drawn over his eyebrows and eyelid dragged past below his eye, hooked slightly on his cheekbone, then it formed a curve following the contour of his cheek, then an additional single wave line of scar on his lower eyelid, marring the otherwise smooth texture of his face. Aside from the attention-stealing scar on his face, Walker also had a curious shade of big, bluish silver round eyes which Kanda felt that could penetrate one's soul upon gazing at them. The thought made him slightly uncomfortable.

Kanda's train of thoughts was interrupted by non other than Walker himself.

'Senpai, I hate to be rude but, aren't you going to offer help? I know I invited you on my own will but it would be nice if you could help me so we can eat earlier - and I think I need to teach you how to cook too because judging by the things you bought earlier, you only know how to cook _instant_ soba.' Allen said with a smile. Kanda felt it was a jibe

Kanda scowled and stepped beside Walker and he harshly shoved him by the shoulder. He grabbed the knife from him and took one of the avocadoes sitting on the chopping board.

'Tell me what should I do.' Kanda said with a clipped tone.

Allen peered at him with a smirk - then he laughed freely - not in an insulting way but in good humour. He laughed like a child and it reminded Kanda of wind chimes making tingling sounds as the gentle wind blew past it.

Kanda grimaced at his thought.

Walker must have misunderstood his expression because he quickly straightened his face and then cleared his throat.

'I apologize. I did not mean to insult you in anyway, I just found your expression adorable, senpai.' Allen said with a shrug. It was obvious he was still fighting his urge to laugh.

Kanda thought he didn't mind if Walker laughed some more . He wasn't offended anyway. Then he remembered Walker said something about 'adorable' and he was about to snap at him about it when he felt something brush against his leg which made him yelp. He was ready to chuck the knife at the thing when he recognized it to be a cat.

'Timcanpy!' Walker cried as he picked up the bushy, yellow, ugly cat.

'Is that yours?' Kanda asked, not making any effort to hide his disgust.

'Yes. Isn't he lovely?' Allen said as he nuzzled with it, eyes sparkling.

The cat's yellow-green eyes focused on Kanda.

'Uh...' Kanda said, aware that he sounded dumb just now.

Then the cat called Timcanpy scratched Walker mercilessly across his face - Walker howled in pain and dropped it on the floor - it landed on its feet, glared at Kanda, then stalked off somewhere in the room.

'I forgot we fought this morning. He's usually a sweet little fellow but sometimes he's just - ugh - I shouldn't have scolded Tim earlier. He just wanted to play with me.' Walker said as he turned the faucet on and splashed some water on his scratched faced.

'Right. _"Sweet little fellow"_ it is.' Kanda sneered.

'Ugh! Going back to avocadoes - please peel them all and then slice them in half then in thin width wise.'

Kanda gingerly picked up one of the potatoes and began peeling it while Walker busied himself with something else and so the moment passed by in silence. He thought peace would last a little longer when -

'What are you doing? And what is this thickness? Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh my god you don't even know how to peel a fruit properly? Senpai, this is considered a talent - pfft! - Ha! Ha! Ha!'

Kanda wanted to chuck the knife at Walker's face so badly in embarrassment. He could feel his face oozing off with boiling heat which crept to his neck and down his back.

Walker howled in laughter some more.

* * *

Late lunch had gone in relative peace in opposed to the mayhem that had happened earlier while they were preparing their food. After pointing out to Kanda his fascinating talent at peeling avocadoes (or any fruit or vegetable for that matter, Allen guessed), Kanda had an expression like he so badly wanted to thrust the knife at Allen's heart or skin him alive - thankfully, he had only slammed the knife on the table and had attempted to walk out. He had to pacify his anger by apologizing profusely while trying to keep his face serious. He had accepted the apology with threats that Kanda would end Allen's life should he make fun of him again, and had gone back to the kitchen, stomping his way in the process. After that, Allen had calmly taught him how to peel an avocado and how to slice it in his preferred shaped for the dragon roll and so the cooking process had gone by without any blood shed.

'Thank you for joining me for today's lunch. I had fun.' Allen said with a sincere smile after wiping his mouth off with a napkin.

Kanda gave him a sharp glare.

'No! Don't misunderstand senpai. I'm not making fun of you - I meant - it had been so long since the last time I had dined with someone. I had almost forgotten what it felt like.' Allen trailed off.

'Where's your guardian? You mentioned him the other day.' Kanda asked.

'Oh! Cross? He went back to England saying he had something urgent to do there. He ditched me right after we arrived here in Tokyo.' Allen replied.

'You mean he abandoned you?' Kanda asked incredulously.

'No! Cross did not abandon me. He had to deal with something in England. No matter how ridiculous Cross' actions appeared to others, he did them because he had valid reasons. And besides, I'm not alone. Timcanpy is with me.' said Allen defensively. He was getting uncomfortable about how Kanda viewed his godfather. It was true that Cross was sometimes unreasonable but he had great respect for him. After all, he was the only one who willingly took Allen when no one else did because they found his arm and scars hideous. Cross protected him from harm and he kept him well and alive after all these years.

Kanda must have detected his discomfort.

'Tch!' he spat, almost inaudibly.

'But I believe I'm faring well. Japan is a lovely place; it's not hard to quickly grasp how things work here. And my godfather said he'll be back after a few months.' Allen said with a crooked smile.

'I suppose it really isn't unusual for high school students these days to live alone. I also live apart from my family.' Kanda said nonchalantly. He was picking on his leftover mushrooms on his plate.

'So I was right about you.' Allen said with a sheepish grin.

'It's nothing big. My family is from Kyoto. They sent me here in Tokyo to study at Hoshino International School.' Kanda answered in a reserved manner.

'And judging from where you shop, you also live around here.' Allen concluded.

Kanda only jerked his head as his reply.

Allen chuckled and shook his head off. Then he remembered he still had a tub of chocolate and strawberries ice cream in the fridge so stood up from his seat to get it.

'Time for desserts!' he announced excitedly.

'You're still not full?,' Kanda asked looking astounded, 'The amount of food you've inhaled was like for five gluttonous people!'

'I'll always have room for desserts!'

* * *

Kanda trudged back to his bedroom and slumped on his bed. He started to regret accepting Walker's invitation to lunch. It seemed to him that Walker tried to kill by force-feeding, that cheeky runt! He had never been this full before. He had a funny feeling that he wouldn't need to eat for the next three days.

Kanda was about to get ready for bath when his phone rang indicating that he got a new e-mail. He flipped his phone and opened the message; it was from Walker.

Kanda-senpai,

Again, I would like to thank you for joining me on today's lunch. I hope you enjoyed the food as much as I did. ＼（＠￣∇￣＠）／ Too bad you didn't get to hang out with Tim because he was sulky today. I thought you'd definitely hit it off at first sight. (。┰ω┰。) Next time you come, I'll definitely make sure Tim is in his best mood - and I'll also teach you how to cook some basic stuff for survival. See you on Monday! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Allen Walker

Kanda shut his phone close and pocketed it. He did not expect Walker to be the kind who'd use a lot of emoticons in his messages. Never mind, at least he had something to look forward to on Monday – ticking the hell off of Walker.

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter title sounds stupid. It just came to me randomly. I don't have any naming sense, do I? As always reviews are always very much appreciated. Point any grammar mistakes, or if you find this chapter boring, or if you have any other suggestions, just say them in reviews. I try to reply to all of you but I have short attention span, as I have come to accept recently haha! One moment, I'm typing my heart-felt messages, next moment, I'm off reading something, forgetting that I still have not sent or finish the message.

Didn't have much time to proof read so I expect this to be worse than usual.


	5. Friends Plus Ship

Monday morning the next week started well for Allen. He deliberately avoided glares from strangers who were disgusted by his mere existence and instead focused his thoughts on his engagement later. He was about to have lunch with Kanda, Lavi, and Lenalee and the idea alone was already making him feel giddy with excitement. He had never hang out with cliques before so it was all new to him and the people who would be with him later seemed all nice people – well Kanda was kind of on the grumpy side as he was always wearing a scowl on his face but he could tell had a playful side in him, proven by his love of commenting on Allen's height which was pretty average according to census. Kanda and Lavi were just freakishly tall so he seemed rather small when they towered over him.

Lunch break came in a blink of an eye and his daydreaming was broken by a loud, familiar voice from the doorway.

'Allen-chan!' It was Lavi. He was waving at him enthusiastically.

'Come Allen! Let's go!' Lenalee gently grabbed Allen's hand and dragged him by the door. He almost forgot to bring his bentou with him.

'Lavi-senpai, Kanda-senpai. How are you?' Allen said bowing when they exited the room. Kanda was standing behind Lavi wearing his default scowl.

'Bah! Allen you're making us feel old! Don't bow to us and don't be too polite, geez! Yuu-chan, say something too!' Lavi said and swatted Allen's shoulder, looking scandalized.

Allen quickly turned his gaze at Kanda.

'Stop calling me "Yuu-chan", Baka Usagi! Do you want me to rip your hair?' Kanda threatened.

_Usagi?_ Allen was confused. In what way Lavi was a rabbit?

Lavi just offered Kanda a peace sign and a goofy grin. He was really a laid-back person who marched to the beat of his own drums.

Moyashi, listen,' Kanda started, eyes squinted, 'Among the four of us, you look the oldest here with that white hair of yours so if people see you bowing your head to us every goddamn time you greet us, people will think we're bullying an old man.' he finished with a mean-looking smirk on his lips.

It was Allen's turn to squint his eyes and he almost snarled at him but he stopped himself. It would be a disgrace on his honour to disrespect a senior student. He took a deep breath and politely smiled - although he was sure it looked strained. He'd get his revenge later.

'Okay, I'll do as you said senpai. I don't want people to get the wrong idea after all.'

Kanda frowned but did not make any further comment.

'Okay boys. That's enough! Let's go to the cafeteria. It's Allen's first day with us – it'll be a pity if we don't get decent seats today.' said Lenalee, ushering them to move.

'No worries Lenalady! People pretty much know by now not to touch our spot.' Lavi said with a snicker.

'Don't act like you own that spot Lavi! If brother hears of this, he'll kick your butt!' Lenalee said.

Lavi quickly straightened his face.

'Yes, ma'am!' he said with a mock salute.

Lenalee laughed at Lavi's antics and playfully hit his arm. Allen merely chuckled and Kanda merely scowled.

They strode on, Allen opting to slower his steps so he could look at the three before him. His gaze landed on Kanda's ponytail and the graceful swaying movement the long strands of hair made it somehow annoyed him. Then he remembered Kanda's mean comment about him looking like an old man and he suddenly got a wicked idea.

Allen quietly closed the gaps between him and Kanda and he didn't seem to notice that someone had sneaked behind him and got with his personal space.

Allen then bent his knees to bump the back of Kanda's knees. Then in slow motion, he saw Kanda yelped as his knees buckled and he knelt to the ground then he smacked his butt on the cold floor when he lost his balance, resulting to an awkward sitting position. Everyone, along Lavi and Lenalee, turned around and saw in horror that Kanda Yuu, the school's 'Blizzard Prince' was slumped on the floor in what Allen could describe as 'damsel-in-distress' pose.

'Oh! Kanda-senpai, are you okay? Did your knees give way you lack calcium? Is it because you're getting _old_?' Allen said in mock worry, putting an obvious emphasis on the last word. He offered his hand for Kanda to take and help him get up.

Kanda glared daggers at him.

Everyone waited with baited breath as Kanda slowly stood up, his whole frame visibly shaking in anger, and ignored Allen's hand.

Lavi who stood by Kanda, audibly gulped.

'Mo-ya-shi...'

'A-Allen-chan? It's best for ya if you escape now.' Lavi said with a restrained smile. His eyes were wide with fear for Allen's life. 'See you at the cafeteria?'

And that was Allen's cue to run. He ran as fast as he could and he could feel Kanda was at his heels. He heard Lenalee shout 'Boys! Don't run on the hallways!' but he didn't stop. He wanted to laugh at the situation but he couldn't at the moment as he was too preoccupied by his task at the moment: escaping the monster that was Kanda.

Perhaps he was too busy entertaining his thoughts that he didn't notice that Kanda quickly caught up to him, and next moment, he felt an arm grab him by the neck and fingers twisting his right ear.

'Aw! _"Get off! Bloody hell! It hurts!"_' Allen wailed as he struggled to remove Kanda's choking arm around his shoulder.

'_"__Well sorry Brit,"_ I don't forgive so easily!' Kanda snarled as he twisted Allen's ear some more.

Allen was surprised by Kanda's smooth English but chose to not comment on it right now as he could actually feel Kanda smirking _menacingly_ as he squirmed to get away and his eyes started to water from pain.

Allen was later then rescued by a guffawing Lavi and an exasperated Lenalee.

'He runs like a mad cheetah.' Walker said with a childish pout as he pulled a chair and sat down by Lenalee and opposite of Kanda. His ear was still red from the mutilation it suffered earlier.

The sight brought satisfaction to Kanda.

'Well, it's what'cha get for messin' with Yuu here. What'ya do that for?' Lavi said amused.

'He called me "old".' Allen complained.

'Ha! Ha! This guy's the best, Yuu! You found yourself an equal! And what's more, his English side comes on the surface when he gets angry! Cute!' Lavi playfully jibed Kanda with his own elbow on his stomach.

Kanda returned the favour with more force for calling him by his first name.

Lavi almost doubled over.

'Tch! Learn your lesson, Moyashi. You'll never win against me.' Kanda said. He crossed his arms over his chest and pulled on a smirk to emphasize his point.

Walker seemed to have gotten the message quite clearly because he threw Kanda a dirty glare.

Kanda widen his smirk even more.

Lenalee interrupted before another round of fight could erupt.

'Boys, I get that you're getting along quite well-'

'-No, we're not!'

'-but!,' Lenalee threw them all including Lavi a stern look, 'But I'm getting hungry so shall we start eating now? After all, that's the main point of _lunch break_, right?'

Lavi threw his hands up in the air in mock surrender.

Walker bowed his head, apologizing politely.

Kanda huffed and started with his food. It was spicy curry for today's lunch.

'Allen-chan!' Lavi called.

Walker, who was unwrapping his towering bentou (just how much did he pack?), perked up upon hearing his name.

Lavi chewed his mouthful of food first before he continued.

Kanda grimaced in disgust at the sight.

'From now on, you shall join our group okay? Be it lunch, or after classes, or hanging out during weekends. We, Kanda included-'

'-Whatever you gonna say, don't include my name in it!' Kanda protested.

'-Yes _we_ think you already fit in our li'l clique quite well. You and Yuu-chan are already all sunshine and rainbows and I think you're a fun guy. It'll be a blast to have you!' Lavi leaned on the table to pat Walker's shoulder genially.

Walker blushed from the gesture, or maybe from the words by Lavi, Kanda never really knew. Then Walker's eyes travelled from Lavi, to Lenalee, then Kanda, before he lowered his head in embarrassment.

'If you don't really mind having me, I'd be glad to join you.' He muttered. Or so what Kanda heard, he wasn't really sure. Walker was too busy being shy by himself.

Seriously, this kid.

'What are you doing acting all timid like that? You knocked me over earlier without showing any bit of remorse and now you get all jittery just because you're gonna be part of our group?'

'Kanda!'

'Yuu-chan!'

'Shut up! What I'm trying to say to Moyashi here is, of course we don't mind!,' Kanda said with a glare aimed at Lenalee and Lavi for interrupting his speech. 'If we did, if _I_ did, I would have kicked you out a long time ago! I would never even allow them to invite you to join us today, so get your grip and stop being sappy!' Kanda rolled his eyes when he finished. He saw Walker's astounded expression and suppressed the urge to laugh pointedly at him. Then he threw a sideways glance at Lavi and saw that he was gaping at him.

'What?'

'I think, that's the longest speech you've ever made Yuu! Allen you're quite amazing, buddy!' Lavi said happily and went to ruffle Walker's hair.

'Please don't mess with my hair senpai!'

'You're exaggerating.' Kanda said in a clipped tone. He ignored his company and kept on eating his food.

Lenalee chuckled at the scene.

'Kanda's right, Allen. I think it's fair to say that we are a good judge of character and by instinct we probably knew that we wanted to be friends with you. So if you don't mind these two's rough, rowdy, arrogant, and overall rude nature, I really hope you'd become friends with us. And please remain as polite and well-mannered. We need a model for these two to follow.' Lenalee said. She offered Walker a sweet smile and then patted his head gently, like she was talking to a five year old.

'Aiyah! As expected of a girl, ya really know what cheesy lines to say at a time like this. And now I know that this is how you really see us eh? I'm hurt.' Lavi said, putting his hand over his chest.

Lenalee just shrugged and flipped her hair over her shoulder. She was apparently not affected by Lavi's drama.

It was Walker's turn to chuckle as he watched them.

'I apologize. I did not mean to be sentimental; it's just that it is my first time to be accepted in a group as I've always been avoided by everyone because of my appearance ever since I could remember,' he said with a feeble smile. 'So I'm really not used to your kind treatment and honestly, I do not know how to deal with it.'

'You don't have to deal with it. Just act however you please. You're just a bean sprout after all. You don't have to over-think about the silliest things.' Kanda said off-handedly. He did not bother to meet anyone's eyes and concentrated instead on picking his food

'Allen,' Lavi said with seriousness, though there was still a slight trace of a smile on his lips, 'Starting from now, whenever you're with us just relax and be yourself. You don't have to use brains in dealing with people. Don't try to be too considerate of us – whaever you're feeling at the moment just let it out without hesitations. The first time of friendship is being yourself when you're surrounded by people ya wanna call friends.'

Kanda couldn't believe he was sitting here listening over the whole conversation about mushy things like friendship.

Walker seemed like he was so overwhelmed and touched that he couldn't utter a response so he opted to just nod his head in affirmative.

Lenalee giggled and cried about how apparently cute Walker was and Lavi reached over to pinch his cheek. Walker protested while laughing at the same time. Kanda chose this moment to ignore them all and finish his lunch instead. Now that another idiot joined their ranks, he wondered how his coming days would be like for him.

'Ne, Allen! Let's go home together later, 'kay?'

Lavi draped over Allen as they idly walked down the corridors on their way to their own respective classrooms.

'Oh! That's fine with me senpai. Are also part of the go-home club too?' said Allen. He tilted his head to look at Lavi.

'Eh? Ah no. Yuu-chan here is the captain of kendo. I'm the captain of our basketball team. Lenalady's part of the home economics club.'

'I see. Then I'm sorry but I can't go home with you because I have work after classes.' said Allen with an apologetic smile.

'You have a part-time job, Allen-kun?' Lenalee asked, impressed.

'But does our school allow students for part-time jobs?' Lavi asked Lenalee.

'Who'd hire a kid like you?' Yuu, interjected, his brows slightly furrowed.

'Aren't you being rude Kanda-senpai?' Allen asked monotonously. He looked peeved.

'No seriously, Allen, what do ya do at your work?' Lavi asked. He made Allen to face him.

'Er... I'm just a waiter.' Allen said shyly.

'Waiter? We definitely have to check out your place Allen! Where's it at?' Lavi said excitedly. He definitely did not want to miss such an exciting discovery. What did Allen look like during his work?

'No.'

Allen stopped at his tracks.

'Eh? What "no" Allen-kun? What's the matter?' Lenalee said. She halted her pace as well when she noticed Allen wasn't by her side.

'It – it's nothing really special, see? You would just be wasting your time.'

'You sound suspicious, Moyashi.'

'What? Does that mean Yuu is also interested, hm?' Lavi teased as he poked his sides.

'No! And stop calling me by my first name, you idiot! Why is Moyashi so adamant about not letting you see him at work? What if he's actually doing illegal work like being a host?' Kanda countered.

'Who would hire me as a host?,' Allen asked incredulously, 'I don't think there's a club who would hire an underaged like me. And with my appearance, I don't think anyone would want me.' He finished in a joking tone.

'Well, you can easily pass for a girl so you might have been hired in a gay club and who knows? There might be a club somewhere for paedophiles so they actually hire kids like you.' Kanda said smugly.

Allen narrowed his eyes dangerously.

'If there's anyone who looks more like a girl between us guys, it should be you, what with your beautiful long hair and all. You should try to cross-dress senpai and work as a hostess – you'd be a sure hit.'

'Whoah, Yuu! Burn!' Lavi said while clutching his stomach. His stomach hurt from laughing.

Yuu at that moment, threw and dirty look at Lavi before he suddenly grabbed Allen by the neck and strangled him to death. Allen tried to fight with all his might threatening to shave Yuu's head and make him bald and Yuu just smirked in return and challenged the poor boy in his arms to do it if he could. He was confident that Allen wouldn't be able to touch a single strand of his hair and to be honest, Lavi thought Allen wouldn't really stand a chance. He'd be dead before he could even try.

Well, it was hilarious to watch them bicker and Lavi couldn't stop himself from laughing. He thought Yuu found his match in Allen's form. Ha! He'd have to definitely take care of Allen from now on. Now he had someone to back him up in the near future.

Somewhere around him, Lavi heard Lenalee release an amused sigh as she muttered 'boys' and ignored the rest of them.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I apologize for the long delay. When I first wrote this chapter, I did finished most of it early and I thought I would be able to update in less than 2 weeks after I posted the previous chapter. But then, I had to concentrate on looking for a job so I had to set this aside temporarily and before I knew it, it's been more than 2 months since I last updated. I'll try to update again at least every after 2 weeks or my maximum target should be once a month. I now have a work and although it's not in line with my decree, I so far like the people around me. I get to talk about anime without people throwing weird looks on me. ha! ha! And they understand my weirdness. I hope I can survive the job and last up until I decide to leave. XD Wish me luck, please. Ha! Ha! I look forward to your reviews about the chapter and let me know my errors. Is the flow okay? Did I commit grammar mistakes somewhere? I'm sorry I wasn't able to clean this before I post it because if I decide to delay it any further for proof-reading, I might take another month before I update. :D Will try to reply to all of your previous reviews later. Cheers!

P.S. Does anyone have news about -man? Seriously the long wait is killing me! I hope Hoshino Katsura is doing well. D: new chapter pleaaaase!


	6. Golden Week Disaster

**Author's Notes:** Um, hi? Forgive the mistakes please. I was too excited to update, I hastily checked this then BAM!

**Update date:** 02:13:2015

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N.O.T.H.I.N.G..E.L.S.E..M.A.T.T.E.R.S

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'Allen-chan, have any plans for the upcoming Golden Week?'

It was a chilly Tuesday afternoon but the group decided to have their lunch at the school building's roof top. How Lenalee managed to get the key so they could access the forbidden area, Allen had no idea. He could only guess she had some really powerful connections around school.

'Plans? Golden Week? I think I've heard about it but I am not really sure what you are talking about, Lavi-senpai.' Allen asked, giving his strawberry icicle his full attention.

'Baka Usagi, Moyashi's a foreigner. You might want to explain.' Kanda interjected, still refusing to look up from his book.

'Oh, sorry! Ha! Ha! Well, basically, Golden Week is a week full of holidays so we get a week off from school, and for adult's cases, from work. Even the best of workaholics can't resist this time of the year.'

'I see. I think it starts on April twenty-nine?' Allen asked, now taking full interest on the topic.

'How'd ya guess, little buddy?'

'Our boss was talking about it. Seems like it will be a busy week for us.' Allen said with a shrug.

'You mean you won't get a week off?' Lavi said as he suddenly sat up straight from lying position, his face look slightly horrified.

'I'll get a few days off but I promised boss I'll be working for the remaining days of the week. A lot of my workmates seems like they will be taking a break too.'

'What a bummer' said Lavi as his shoulders sagged.

'That selflessness nonsense of yours will get you killed someday, stupid Moyashi.' Kanda commented in displeasure.

Allen threw him a dirty glare before he replied.

'At least I'm not a selfish bastard.' he sneered in a low voice.

'Care to repeat that again, Moyashi?' Kanda demanded as he slammed hs book aside to give Allen his full attention.

'Allen, when will you take a break then?' Lenalee asked. She was seemingly ignoring the dangerous aura Kanda was emitting. She was probably too used to this.

'Starting May three I shall be on a half day then the succeeding days shall be my break.' replied Allen with a small smile.

'Cool! We still can get to do stuff together!' Lavi exclaimed excitedly, hooking his arm around Allen's shoulders.

'Great! I won't get to see you all for the whole Golden Week. Leave me alone.' said Kanda. He leaned on the railings with his arms folded behind his head and closed his eyes.

'What'd ya mean by that, Yuu? You're coming with us no matter what!' said Lavi, ignoring Kanda's growls of protests, then he turned his attention back to Allen who was frowning at Kanda, 'So Allen, I figured you haven't really been around the city yet so, any ideas? Do you have any specific places ya wanna see? We'll be more than happy to be your tour guide!'

Allen flashed Lavi a grateful smile and started to think if he had any place in mind he wanted to visit. He bit his lip when something crossed his mind.

'Um, I heard there are a lot of great cheap restaurants in Shibuya. I am craving for Chinese food lately.' said Allen sheepishly.

'Oh! Allen-kun, there is a Chinatown in Shibuya. I know a lot of great restaurants there. I frequent that place with Komui-nii.' Lenalee said with bright smile. She was starting to get excited too.

'Tch. I was expecting something like this. Moyashi's top priority is food.' Kanda muttered darkly.

'Kanda-senpai, will you stop calling me "Moyashi"? I do not look like a bean sprout!' Allen said indignantly.

Lavi snorted loudly.

Allen turned his attention to Lavi, appalled.

'What is so funny, Lavi-senpai? Do you think I'm small too?' Allen asked, his eyes narrowed.

'No, not all. I know you're of average height and Kanda and I are just blessed on that department but, you're so white and pale. You really do look like a bean sprout in my opinion.' Lavi said, sniggering.

'See? Even Baka Usagi thinks the same, so Moyashi, shut up and accept your name.' said Kanda, smirking triumphantly.

Oh how Allen just wanted to wipe that smirk off of his pretty face! He was getting on his nerves!

'Boys! I hope you're not forgetting the fact that we're trying to plan for our Golden Week here?' asked Lenalee sullenly.

'I apologize Lenalee-san.' said Allen remorseful.

'Never mind,' she replied, 'Let's get this over with before lunch break ends.'

Lavi gave a mock salute.

Kanda just went back to his own world with a groan, watching as the clouds slowly drift by. Allen could tell though he was still paying attention to Lenalee's instructions despite his earlier claim that he was not interested.

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* * *

'So where's Allen? He's still not here?' said Lavi as he jogged over to Kanda and Lenalee. He was just in time for their 9:00 AM meet up.

'Nope. I've never seen Allen-kun yet. Kanda was first to arrive.' Lenalee answered, her brows slightly furrowed.

Kanda did not bother making any comments. He was too busy contemplating where the stupid Moyashi had gone to. He did not look like someone who would be too irresponsible to arrive late for meetings, but hell, he didn't know that him well anyway.

'Ah! I just remembered I don't have his number yet! Wah! I'm an idiot!' Lavi burst out. He appeared to be miffed at his own idiocy.

'Glad you finally realized.' Kanda said, finally deciding to voice his own opinion, 'Shut up first Baka Usagi and listen. That stupid bean sprout might just not be too familiar around here so he's having minor issues getting here. And remember that he's short so he's probably walking on baby steps.'

Lenalee seemed like she found what Kanda said to be funny and could not stop herself from giggling, although she tried - by covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

'Yuu, dammit I'm so proud of you! Ha! Ha! Ya actually have a sense of humour!' said Lavi as he did not even try to supress his laughter.

'I'm serious.' said Kanda, and he meant it, 'If after 15 minutes had gone and Moyashi's still not here, we're going to find him.'

Lavi straightened his face and replied to Kanda.

'Gotcha.'

So they did wait and sat down at one of the benches. They were currently at a small park near the bus stop where they would take a ride to take them all to Shibuya. Kanda watched the kids shriek and play and fall down on their knees feeling bored. Lenalee kept on throwing him furtive glances but he ignored her and Lavi was on his own world, taking pictures of himself, doing silly and idiotic poses to post later on all of his social networking accounts. He tried to take a picture with Kanda too, but he threatened to stupid rabbit with a dangerous glare and he backed down immediately.

When fifteen minutes had passed and still no Walker was seen around the area, Kanda stood up and took out his phone from his front pocket. He immediately went to his phonebook and called Walker right away.

_'Hello?'_ a tentative answer from the other line.

Kanda took out a deep breathe before he bellowed.

'WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?'

_'I-I'm so sorry! I was hoping you would call-'_

'Then why didn't you send a message?'

_'I apologize Tim broke my phone last night and so I can only answer calls but I can not do anything else. It keeps on freezing every time I try to open any other applications.'_

Kanda pause for a second, feeling his temple slightly throbbing. Then he replied as he rubbed his forehead in frustration.

'Tell me where you are right now.'

_'I...'_ a pause.

'What?'

_'I'm lost!'_

'Aho! Describe to me the place where you're at right now so I can drag your ass right back here!'

_'Well, if you _must_ know, there's a flower shop right in front of me called "Innocence''-'_

'I know that place! How'd you get there when it's at the completely opposite way to the park, I don't know. Fucking stay there 'til I get there to haul you back!' and Kanda folded his phone close with a loud snap.

'Kanda, when did you get Allen-kun's number?' Lenalee asked seemingly perplexed at what just occurred minutes ago.

'None of your business. That idiot got lost so I have to get him.' said Kanda. He let out an irritated sigh as he pocketed his phone, 'Lavi stay here with Lenalee. I'll be back.'

'Roger!' Lavi said as raised a hand to waive at him.

And Kanda stomped over to where the stupid midget was.

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N.O.T.H.I.N.G..E.L.S.E..M.A.T.T.E.R.S

* * *

Lenalee sat there and stared at the spot where she last saw Kanda before he disappeared around the corner. She bit her lip as she contemplated on recent events during these past few weeks.

Upon noticing Lavi's soft sigh, Lenalee remembered that she also forgot to ask for Allen's contact number so they were stuck here together, waiting for Kanda and Allen to arrive. Her thoughts lead her to questions though as she was astounded by the fact that among the three of them, it was Kanda who managed to get Allen's contact details. It was not a secret that they did not get along quite well, especially Kanda, who seemed to have picked up a new hobby lately: pissing the heck out of Allen Walker.

Lenalee chewed her lip some more before she decided to ask Lavi a question.

'Lavi, do you remember Kanda and Allen exchanging numbers?'

Lavi blinked at her before he scratched his messy fiery red hair.

'I dunno,' he replied, 'I honestly don't remember anything like that happening when I was around. If I did, I would have gotten Moyashi-chan's number right away too.'

Lenalee only hummed thoughtfully at this.

'Must have happened behind our backs.' Lavi added as an afterthought, shrugging.

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N.O.T.H.I.N.G..E.L.S.E..M.A.T.T.E.R.S

* * *

Allen was standing like an idiot in front of the flower shop, waiting for Kanda to arrive. He would get glimpses of ladies in the shop every now and then and he could see them giggling at his direction. This made him so self conscious and started to fiddle with his hat. He took note of his attire today: a fitted, black jeans, black Dr. Martens boots, black, metal-studded leather belt, white, button-down shirt, fedora hat, and his usual white gloves to cover his scar-damaged hand. He was hoping his look was not too weird around this neighbourhood.

He was still playing absentmindedly with his hat when he heard a growl on his left.

Standing just a few steps away from him, was a black Shi Tzu with its leash curled around its feet, baring its fangs as it growled, and was in a kind of stance readily to pounce at him at any given moment.

Allen took, a few careful steps back, hoping against hope that he was not the one causing this kind of reaction to the dog. But unfortunately, no matter how much he tried to fool himself, he was quite aware that he was the only person standing outside this residential area, so it would really make sense if the dog was directing its frustration the first living thing he encountered the moment it escaped from its master.

To be honest, he did not do well with aggressive dogs as he was not used to handling them. He had Timcanpy all his life and had not had any interactions with dogs since before he left England. He vaguely remembered having a Russian hound when he was a child but holy molly, that was when he was still in diapers! And so these thoughts gave him the most rational step he could think of right now to face his currently dilemma.

He darted across the street, opposite of where the dog stood.

The moment it realized his victim was about to escape, the small, black Shi Tzu, ran with all its might with its small hinds. It was barking as loud as it could after Allen, determined to get a piece of him.

Allen blindly ran straight, hoping to put as much as distance between him and the mad dog. He turned his head to check how the small demon was fairing he felt that he crushed onto something and he fell down with it with a loud thump on the concrete floor.

Groaning, Allen slowly lifted himself from the _breathing_, _living thing_ beneath him. When he opened his eyes, he saw a menacing, huge, black _dog_ glaring darkly up at him, looking ready to chomp his head off.

Allen paled at the site.

* * *

N.O.T.H.I.N.G..E.L.S.E..M.A.T.T.E.R.S

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**Author's Notes:** I know. I have no excuse. I started working and so I barely have time to do anything else. And also, I did not know how this chapter would work. The dog scene with Allen was actually a last minute thing. I did not want to bore the hell out of you guys. But who knows... Ergh. Reviews and flames would be really much appreciated right now. I need something to distract myself from my shitty real life situation I'm in now. Will try to update faster. Next chapter is almost finished.


	7. Secrets Between Us

**Update Date:** 04:03:2015

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N.O.T.H.I.N.G..E.L.S.E..M.A.T.T.E.R.S

The large black dog was none other than Kanda.

Allen immediately removed himself from him and grabbed Kanda's arm to help him get up. He was sure some of Kanda's body parts were hurting right now as the spot they fell upon was anything but soft.

'I don't need your help, stupid!' Kanda protested as he tried to swat Allen's hand away.

But Allen would not budge. He saw Kanda wince slightly as he tried to hoist himself up.

'I am so sorry Kanda-senpai!' Allen said as he fussed over Kanda, patting his clothes off of dirt and checking if his clothes got ruined from the fall.

'What the fuck were you doing Moyashi?! Didn't I tell you to stay at the flower shop?' Kanda asked angrily.

'I did! I honestly did but this dog - fuck!' Allen exclaimed as he turned to look for the source of his current situation, 'The dog!'

The black Shi Tzu from hell was looking at them, seemingly confused as to what was happening. It tilted its head to the side, probably wondering why it suddenly garnered their attention.

'That _thing_ was chasing after me, determined to chew me to death.' Allen said as he looked at it reproachfully.

Kanda directed his glare to the dog and upon sensing his menacing aura, the dog trotted back with a small whine, its leash trailing along as it made tingling noises after it.

'You got scared from it?! _You_ got scared from a dog?!' Kanda asked scornfully, 'I know you're _small_, but fuck, you're much bigger than that dog! You could have kicked it if it was about to attack you!'

Allen ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He was unnerved and horrified at the same time when Kanda just mocked him again about his height and at the same time suggested to actually hurt an animal.

'Kanda-senpai, you do realize what you're suggesting is animal cruelty right? I could never harm an animal to save my life.' he said sullenly.

Kanda released a frustrated sigh before he arranged his features into a calmer expression, rubbing the bridge of his nose in the process.

'It would have been self-defence if you hurt an animal to save your skin.' he said.

Allen did not bother to reply as he busied himself from dusting off his clothes and smoothing the wrinkles on his shirt. He was checking if he had any unsightly dirt anywhere when he suddenly felt his cheeks stinging like hell.

'And how the fuck did get here when this is the complete opposite of the park, hm? You do realize you've caused trouble, Moyashi?' Kanda said as he pinched Allen's cheeks harder with every word.

'Awawaw! Stuhid! Lehee geo!' Allen said, or more like, he _tried _to say. He did his utmost to pry Kanda's hands off of his painfully reddening face.

'Hmm? Did I hear you say "stupid", Moyashi? Are you asking for more pain? How about I twist your ears next, hm?' Kanda said, seemingly enjoying the tears gathering at the corner of Allen's eyes.

'I gif, I gif!' Allen cried, grabbing on both of Kanda's wrist. He really could not take the pain any longer

Kanda released him.

'That's what I thought.' he said with a smug smirk.

The most annoying thing about it for Allen was Kanda was _annoyingly_ handsome. That kind of smirk would make nearby girls swoon and go gaga over him. He just wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off of his face permanently.

'Let's go stupid Moyashi. I haven't got all day.' Kanda said as he grabbed Allen's hand and tugged him with him as he strode to where the park was.

Allen surrendered to his fate and let himself be dragged by Kanda.

N.O.T.H.I.N.G..E.L.S.E..M.A.T.T.E.R.S

Lenalee was drawing small circles on the sand with her boot waiting dreamily when Lavi nudged her with his elbow and gestured to the corner where Kanda disappeared to earlier.

There, as they turned around the from the said corner, were Allen and Kanda, seemingly arguing as usual, oblivious to the stares they were attracting from passers by. What caught Lenalee's attention the most though was their connecting hands which the two did not seem to mind, at all. She saw Allen gave Kanda a contemptuous smile before he took his hand away and stomped over to where she and Lavi where.

Lavi did not give any inclination though that he noticed the same things she did and just wave enthusiastically at them with a huge grin on his face.

Lenalee decided to forget that little incident between Kanda and Allen.

For now.

N.O.T.H.I.N.G..E.L.S.E..M.A.T.T.E.R.S

Allen jogged over to the bench where Lenalee sat and Lavi stood by. An apologetic smile plastered across his face.

'I am so sorry! I did not mean to cause trouble. I had forgotten to ask for both of your contact numbers and my cat broke my phone last night. I could not make a call not send a message to Kanda-senpai.' Allen said as he bowed in remorse.

'Yes! Yes! We totally understand Moyashi-chan! Don't sweat it! Come on, stand back straight man!' Lavi said cheerfully as he patted Allen genially.

'That's right Allen-kun. Of course you're just new around here. And I am sorry that I had also forgotten to get your contact details. It just slipped my mind.' Lenalee said as her brows furrowed, 'By the way, what happened to your cheeks? They're so red. Are you sick?'

Allen waived his hand dismissively, before he turned briefly glared to Kanda.

'I'm not. Don't worry about it.' he said as he returned his attention to Lavi and Lenalee.

Allen then examined what they all were wearing today. Lenalee was wearing a maroon sweater, short, pleated plaid skirt, thick, black tights, and dark blue-green fitted boots with black, cross patterned shoe laces at the side of the boots. Her normally silky straight hair was stylishly dishevelled but still in pigtails. She was wearing a light make-up that enhanced her purple eyes, making them look bigger and brighter, pale pink glossy lips that would surely attract the men's attention in town. Allen decided he found Lenalee really attractive.

Lavi meanwhile wore a long sleeved dark purple shirt with weirdly drawn cat in white ink printed on his chest. He wore white pants then tucked them in a loose dark grey boots with small gold metal studs on the side. His fiery red hair still fashionably wild.

Kanda, on the other hand, decided to wear all the dark clothes he could find in his closet. He wore a tight-fitting black pants similar to what Allen wore, then a matching black leather boots that reached his mid-calf, then a stylishly cut, greyish black turtle neck shirt. His hair tied in its usual high ponytail, giving him a classic high fashion model look.

Allen wondered if his companions were all into fashion.

'Phew! Allen-chan! You ain't so bad with clothes! That kind of style suits you so well.' Lavi said as he openly checked out Allen's attire.

'Thank you. I could say the same to all of you. You look like you have just gotten out of a fashion magazine photo shoot.' said Allen as he rubbed the back of his neck shyly.

'Aw. Thank you Allen-kun. Lavi and I like to read magazines once in a while so we are aware of the latest trends. Kanda here just have a natural instinct when it comes to clothes.' Lenalee said to Allen as she briefly looked at Kanda.

'Well, I guess that makes us a group of snazzy high school kids, eh?', Lavi said cheerily as he snaked his arm around Allen's neck to drag him to where the bus stop to and fro Shibuya was, 'Come on, we haven't got all day!'

N.O.T.H.I.N.G..E.L.S.E..M.A.T.T.E.R.S

Time flew by in a blink of an eye and before Kanda knew it, it was time for late lunch in one of the many Chinese restaurants in Shibuya's Chinatown.

Kanda observed Walker on the corner of his eyes as he eagerly waited for his mountain of food to come. He wondered in disgust if the stupid beansprout was not feeling full yet. On the way to the cinema, Walker had bought, crepe, takoyaki, large honeydew milk tea as they had strolled the town. Then when they had to get popcorns and soda as Lavi had gone to get tickets, he had bought two large popcorns and two large iced tea for himself. The fucking kid had tried to reason with him when he had noticed his aghast expression that a bucket of popcorn was never enough for a guy especially when watching a movie. Well, who ever the fuck thought that having a gigantic bucket of popcorn is a must for every movie-loving chap then they could go and fall off of the cliff. If being glutton like Allen Walker was what would define a man, Kanda would rather kill himself.

He was pulled away from his thoughts when he heard Lavi clear his throat across the table.

'Ahem.'

Kanda quirked his brow.

'So,' Lavi began, 'I was wondering when didcha guys exchange numbers. The four of us were always together so it would be hard to kind of miss this thing happening under our noses, unless - there's something you're not telling us?'

Walker just smiled serenely but did not look like he would answer the question any time soon.

Kanda on the other hand, raised his brow even further.

'So? What's it to you, Usagi?' Kanda asked gruffly. He didn't like the path of this conversation was going.

'Oh come on! Why are ya guys being so secretive? That ain't fair man!' Lavi whined as he huffed and slumped on his seat.

'I'm sorry Lavi-senpai, I don't think it was quite important but if you must know, I had to get Kanda-senpai's number out of necessity and that's it.' Walker said with a strained smile.

Kanda noticed that Walker did not seem keen on idea of sharing the whole details of that certain afternoon, and as odd as it would seem, he felt the same way. His temple twitched. Why should this even be a big deal? Fuck, being invited over for lunch at Walker's place wasn't a big fuss but people should know when to stop bugging when a person did not feel like talking.

'Lavi,' Kanda said, his voice low and monotonous, he hoped he would get his _warning_ across. 'Shut up.'

Lavi met Kanda's intense glare with eerily calm gaze. He was not angry, he seemed to be assessing Kanda's thoughts, though Lavi's expression was unreadable. In a matter of seconds, Lavi withdrew from the staring match and opted to fold his arms behind his behind as he leaned back on his chair.

'Ah. Dunno watcha tryin' to hide from us but whatever. Aren't the food comin' yet? I'm starving!' he said, abruptly going back to his normal demeanour.

Kanda crossed his arms over his chest and tried to relax. He could feel Walker's eyes on him and he in turn, observed Lenalee glance at Walker every now and then.

Kanda decided he found the atmosphere absurdly abnormal.

N.O.T.H.I.N.G..E.L.S.E..M.A.T.T.E.R.S

When the group had made sure they all satisfied Allen's stomach, Lavi had decided to drag them all to places around Shibuya. Kanda groaned while at it, hating the idea of crowds. Allen enjoyed the sight as there were so many interesting shops in the area, mentally noting himself to save more money so he could buy himself something when they visit the area again.

They decided to go home at six pm. They had to part ways at the bus stop near the park where they all gathered earlier that day; Lenalee and Lavi going on the opposite direction of Kanda and Allen's place. Before they left though, they made sure to get Allen's number and Lavi promised he would make good use of it with a wink. Allen was not sure if giving Lavi his contact details a good idea. He hoped it was.

Allen and Kanda started their way back. Everything was nice and quite when Allen remembered something which bugged him a bit the whole day.

'Kanda-senpai.' he called.

'What?'

'Why did you not tell them how I got your number. We just had lunch together that day, didn't we?' Allen asked as he peered at Kanda's face.

Kanda quirked his brow at him.

'I could ask the same of you. And I thought you didn't want them to know.' he replied.

'Ah. No, that was not it. It's just,' Allen paused, not quite sure how he would put into words his reason, 'It was my first time having a friend come over at my home and so the experience was quite special to me. I guess I was not keen to share my it because I want to treasure the memory without being sullied with unnecessary comments by others. Sorry, I know I'm weird.'

'Moyashi, I don't know how can you say something so cheesy with a straight face.' Kanda commented as he shook his head.

Allen chuckled with a small blush creeping on his face.

'But I'd like to thank you for not telling them.'

'I just find it troublesome to tell them, no need to thank me. I don't think I have to tell those two everything I do in my life.' Kanda replied curtly.

'Hm, is that so?', Allen said in wonder 'I guess I understand why you think so.'

Kanda did not bother to reply.

Allen found the night peaceful.

N.O.T.H.I.N.G..E.L.S.E..M.A.T.T.E.R.S

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Sorry for the late update. As always. And also, this was hastily written, really sorry for the poor quality compared to my normal poor. Would love to hear your thoughts about this. Please review.

to **anonymous** who reviewed the last chapter prior to this, i'm not offended! on the contrary, I was happy to know you were actually following this and that you like my story. sorry I had no way of personally replying to you as you haven't logged in when you posted your review, but still, THANK YOU!


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